By Lawrence White and Selena Li LONDON/HONG KONG, March 12 (Reuters) - Just days before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, HSBC's CEO Georges Elhedery said the Asia-Middle East corridor was becoming "a defining axis of global growth".

Demand for private charter flights out of the Middle East has surged since the beginning of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, with those who can afford it paying astronomical prices to leave the region.

Mojtaba Khamenei has called for the Strait of Hormuz to “remain closed”, in his first public statement since he was appointed Iran’s supreme leader. Western officials believe Khamenei has been injured during the war with the US and Israel, according to people familiar with intelligence reports.

As conversations around the Iran war continue to play out online, people are arguing for the term Middle East to be retired.

SEOUL, March 10 (Reuters) - South Korea cannot ⁠stop ⁠U.S. forces in Korea ⁠from redeploying some weapons, President Lee Jae Myung said ​on Tuesday, after reports that some U.S. Patriot missile defence systems were ‌being sent to the conflict ‌in the Middle East.

Cheap Iranian drone attacks are pushing the Pentagon to expand layered air defenses in the Middle East, including interceptor drones and emerging laser systems.

Governments around the world are rushing to organize the return of their citizens from the Middle East on Wednesday and air traffic seems to be picking up slightly as travel across the region remains heavily disrupted by the widening Iran war.

The widening conflict in the Middle East is expected to dominate discussions at Friday's ASEAN economic ministers' retreat, with foreign ministers also holding a virtual meeting on the same day to tackle a deepening ​crisis that has upended global markets.